Virtua Stay Well Health Chat: Hip Preservation and Replacement with Dr. Greg Klingenstein
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00:00Today, I'm joined by Dr. Greg Klingenstein, who is a joint preservation and replacement surgeon with the Virtua team, Virtua Reconstructive Orthopedics.
00:12Doc, good morning. How are you doing today?
00:14Doing great. Thanks so much for having me.
00:16And thank you for coming on. Joint preservation and replacement surgery.
00:20I know a lot of people, you know, my family's age, my parents' age, that have had joint replacement surgery because they want to keep on staying active.
00:29So I can't wait to talk to you about this to learn more.
00:32So the first question I have for you, Doc, is what are some of the most common causes of hip pain?
00:38Sure. Probably the most common is hip arthritis, which is just another word for the hip is wearing out.
00:46You usually see that in middle-aged and older people.
00:49For younger people, we'll see things more like sprains and strains, labral tears, very common in athletes.
00:56Then you've got other stuff like, you know, just the back pain that can radiate into the hip region.
01:02So there's a whole bunch of different reasons.
01:04And what is hip preservation, right? Because everybody wants to still stay active.
01:09You know, you mentioned a lot of it's an athlete.
01:11So I don't want to just sit down the rest of my life.
01:14I want to still try to be as active as I am, the weekend warrior that I am.
01:18What is hip preservation?
01:19Sure. So hip preservation is really taking care of people without a replacement.
01:24So it's really meant for people in their teens, 20s, 30s, sometimes 40s, where we can even prevent or delay a hip replacement in the future.
01:35And why would you choose hip preservation?
01:38Well, you know, there's an old saying that an original hip is always going to work better than a fake one.
01:43Okay.
01:43So if you don't throw the whole thing out, I think it will function better in the end.
01:48So, Doc, you said you'd rather do hip preservation because you'd rather not have a brand new hip because an original hip works better than a new hip.
01:56What are some of the things that go into hip preservation when you realize, all right, I need to do something?
02:02Like, what led to you to do hip preservation instead of getting a brand new hip?
02:06Sure. You know, going through school, I'm in an age where hip preservation didn't really exist when I was in that school.
02:14It was just sort of coming online when I was a resident.
02:18And one of my mentors up in Boston was really helping to invent the field.
02:22So when I was done with my orthopedic surgery training, and then I did a whole fellowship just on hip replacements,
02:29I did another year of training in hip preservation.
02:33And there, my mentor, he called it the full immersion.
02:37You got to do it every day, all day, live it, breathe it to really, really understand what's going on.
02:43And there, you know, we learned about hip dysplasia.
02:45That's a hip socket that's too shallow.
02:48We learned about hip impingement.
02:50That's a ball that doesn't glide well within the socket.
02:54And those things can all contribute to a labral tear.
02:58And it's a labral tear that usually causes the hip pain.
03:02To me, it's the check engine light of the hip.
03:04So I mentioned to you that I'm a weekend warrior.
03:07And I know a lot of people that are watching this are weekend warriors.
03:10Or they're, you know, they're just riding their bike.
03:12Or they like to go for runs.
03:13They like to stay healthy, especially during the summer.
03:15They want to have the beach bods going.
03:18And we always feel pain, right?
03:19Like, I am not a professional athlete.
03:21I don't get to see a trainer every single day.
03:23I don't get to see a masseuse every single day.
03:25I pay for these things to be seen in case I'm feeling pain.
03:29And every once in a while, you put it off.
03:31So when should I see a doctor when it comes to hip pain?
03:36I mean, you bring up a great point.
03:37Pain is a part of life, right?
03:39It's just an everyday thing we deal with.
03:42I would say if you're having pain in the front of your hip or the groin that's stopping you from doing what you want to do for a number of weeks, that's probably worth checking out.
03:53So it's at the front and toward the groin areas when you're starting to feel that pain.
03:57Well, it's not really in the groin and in the front of the hip.
04:01Okay.
04:01Now, Doc, look, you are Dr. Klingenstein.
04:05All right, you are a doctor.
04:06So clearly, you've done a lot to get to the position that you're at.
04:09Can you think of an inspiring story or some sort of successful recovery for a patient that you treated?
04:14Because I think we need to hear this.
04:16Somebody that's watching this at home, they go, all right, well, what's the point of me going to see a doctor if it's not going to help me?
04:21I'm sure you as the doctor that you are today working with the Virtua team, and we know how successful you at Virtua can be and are.
04:30What's one of those inspirational stories that you have for somebody that's watching this today?
04:34Sure.
04:34I mean, everyone wants to look at, you know, who's the athlete on TV?
04:37You know, I think labral tears and hip preservation probably entered the conversation, Philly, with Chase Utley back in 2008.
04:47Yeah.
04:48I just saw a young man this morning.
04:50He's in the military.
04:52He's shipping out to Europe tomorrow.
04:55And his hip was absolutely killing him.
04:57And I just saw him for a six-month post-op check.
05:00And he's already back to running 5Ks.
05:02So those are the people that really mean something to me.
05:08Oh, yeah, absolutely.
05:09We support the troops.
05:10And so this could happen for anybody at any age.
05:13Like, I know you mentioned it earlier.
05:14It could be 20, 30, 40.
05:16Like, I'm 30 years old.
05:17There could be somebody younger than me that could be dealing with this sort of pain, right?
05:21Oh, yeah.
05:22I mean, I treat people in high school.
05:25You know, we get a 15-year-old baseball player who can hardly get around the bases.
05:31That's certainly very rewarding.
05:32We can get them back on the field.
05:35Yeah, absolutely.
05:35So what would you say to someone who's living with hip pain but might be unsure what to do?
05:40Because I think we all kind of reach that limit, like you said, the problem areas.
05:45But if somebody keeps on putting it off, what would you tell them?
05:48Because if you keep on putting it off, I imagine it's only going to get worse.
05:52Especially when it comes to hip preservation, labral tears, and hip impingement,
05:56it's actually wearing out your joint.
05:58The longer that type of thing goes on, the more damage it is accumulating in that hip
06:03joint.
06:04So I don't think it's something just to ignore.
06:07For you, Doc, what is the most rewarding part about your job?
06:11Again, you did a lot to get to the position that you're at.
06:14You don't just wake up one day and you become a doctor.
06:17You have a lot of schooling that you have to go through.
06:19There's a lot of bills that need to be paid with the schooling, with the debt to get to
06:23where you're at.
06:24What's the most rewarding part about your job?
06:27I think it's the day-to-day interaction with patients and seeing them getting better.
06:33You know, you mentioned the schooling and the debts and costs about medical training.
06:38Everybody always assumes as soon as you get through training, as soon as you get through
06:42pre-med, medical school, residency, everything's going to be easier next year.
06:46Right.
06:47Life doesn't get easier as you go on.
06:49So, yeah, we do put in a lot of hours.
06:51We all, on the whole health care team, works hard to get people better.
06:56But it's seeing people at six weeks, 12 weeks, a year, getting back to the things that they
07:01love.
07:02I think that's why we all do this.
07:05Doc, you're great.
07:06Thank you so much.
07:06Thank you for you.
07:08And thank you for the entire Virtua Health team.
07:10You guys are tremendous.
07:11I always love having these conversations.
07:13And I really hope those of you watching this today have learned something.
07:16But if there's something that you missed or something that you want to go back or you
07:20want to read up on information instead of just listening to us speak, you can find more
07:24information and you could schedule a consultation with the Virtua Orthopedics and Spine team.
07:29Just visit Virtua.org slash ortho.
07:32Or you can call 888-VIRTUA-3.
07:36That's 888-VIRTUA-3.
07:38And you could speak to somebody, a part of the Virtua team, or you could just find more
07:41information on that website.
07:43Doc, Dr. Klingenstein, I really appreciate you taking the time today.
07:46Thank you so much.
07:47I appreciate what you do.
07:49I hope enough people show their appreciation for what you do.
07:53You're part of the reason why that guys like me can keep on going on the weekends, even
07:56though I probably should have hung them up a couple of years ago.
07:59Thank you, Doc.